APZPB021 Fundamentals of Environmental Geochemistry

Institute of physics in Opava
summer 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Růžena Hledíková (lecturer)
RNDr. Ing. Andrea Kotrlová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
RNDr. Ing. Andrea Kotrlová, Ph.D.
Institute of physics in Opava
Prerequisites
(FAKULTA(FU) && TYP_STUDIA(B))
Successful completion of the course APZPB011 "General Chemistry" is higly recommended.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course introduces students to the principles of geochemical processes and migration of elements and organic pollutants in the environmental media (water, soil, air), including anthropogenic processes. Attention is paid to environmental problems and applications (long-range transport of pollutants, geochemistry of the landscape).
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student will acquire knowledge of basic geochemical processes and concepts of environmental geochemistry, which will help him in solving specific environmental problems. The student will be able to describe the basic principles of geochemical processes and migration of elements and organic pollutants in the environmental media, including anthropogenic processes. Students will use the acquired knowledge in further studies focused on measuring and monitoring of environmental quality indicators.
Syllabus
  • Basic principles of geochemical migration of elements in the environment - endogenous and exogenous factors. Geochemical background and its relevance to the assessment of contamination. Geochemical anomalies, geochemical dispersion halo. Geochemical barriers. Litogeochemistry, hydrochemistry, atmogeochemistry, biogeochemistry. Natural radioactivity of elements. Biogeochemical cycles of elements organogenesis. Biogeochemical migration of minority and trace elements. The organic geochemistry. Remote transmission of pollutants. Geochemistry of the landscape. Geochemistry of recent sediments. Tasks and application of environmental geochemistry. Heavy metals in the environment. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Principles of bonds of trace elements and organic pollutants in soils, assessing their mobility and degradability. Sorption parameters. Partition coefficients. Migration in the soil - soil water - groundwater system. Occurrence and mobility of pollutants in groundwater in the area landfills. Characteristics of binding heavy metals and organic pollutants and assessment of their migration due to the physico-chemical parameters.
Literature
    required literature
  • Mrňa, F.: Užitá geochemie. Academia, Praha 1991.
  • Bouška, V., Jakeš, P., Pačes, T., Pokorný, J.: Geochemie. Academia, Praha 1980.
  • Raclavský, K., Raclavská, H., Homola, V.: Geochemie. Učební texty, CD-ROM. VŠB-TUO, Ostrava 2010.
    recommended literature
  • Jelínek, E., Janatka, J., René, M.: Metody geochemické prospekce. Praha, SPN 1988.
  • Pačes, T.: Základy geochemie vod. Academia, Praha 1983.
  • Moldan, B.: Geochemie atmosféry. Academia, Praha 1977.
  • Mrňa, F., Pácal, Z., Raclavský, K.: Užitá geochemie. VŠB, Ostrava 1984.
Teaching methods
Lectures
One-to-One tutorial
Skills demonstration
Assessment methods
Exam - written test and oral exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms summer 2021, summer 2022, summer 2023, summer 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (summer 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fu/summer2025/APZPB021